Silver Statuette of St. James the Less, from the Wittenberg Reliquaries 1472 - 1553

Editor: Here we have a woodcut titled "Silver Statuette of St. James the Less, from the Wittenberg Reliquaries," likely by Lucas Cranach the Elder, dating from between 1472 and 1553. I’m struck by the starkness of the figure against what appears to be a page of text, giving it almost a ghostly, ephemeral quality. What symbolic significance do you see within this image? Curator: The figure indeed contrasts against the background. The inclusion of text is itself symbolic. It grounds the Saint not only in history, but also in a shared cultural understanding mediated by the written word. He’s named – *Jacob der Kleiner* – anchoring him. Look at the halberd he holds; it's a signifier of martyrdom, tying this image to narratives of faith, death, and spiritual perseverance, resonating across centuries. How does it make you feel to see this specific object repeated for mass consumption? Editor: Interesting. Seeing a Saint printed and repeated makes me wonder about access and faith in the Northern Renaissance. Was it democratizing religious icons, or mass-producing tokens? Curator: It is a complex question. Certainly, print democratized images, creating wider access, however, this was occurring during the Reformation, with profound shifts in religious authority. Images then were contested spaces. St. James and his halberd might evoke very different feelings among Catholics versus early Protestants. And see how he stands on what may be the cosmos, as if it is nothing? Editor: That’s a great point; his dominance over even the cosmos itself definitely plays into his perceived power. I guess this woodcut speaks to larger changes happening at the time in terms of image creation, faith and iconoclasm. Thanks, that was very insightful. Curator: My pleasure. It’s precisely those interwoven threads of belief, production, and power that give the image its lasting significance, which is itself continually open to revision.